Benjamin A. Gifford was born 1859 and began his career as an apprentice to William Latour in Missouri. He subsequently worked in Fort Scot and Chetopa, Kansas in 1883 before moving to Portland, Oregon where we was active as a photographer between 1883-1895. Gifford was also active in The Dalles, Oregon first as a partner in the studio Gifford and Hale between 1895-1899 and then alone between 1899-1910. He then moved back to Portland where he worked under several studio names including, Gifford's Studio and Gifford and Prentiss Inc. from 1910-1920. Gifford was considered one of Oregon's best landscape photographers and he documented many scenes along the Columbia River. He died in 1936.